1. Technical Field
This invention relates to aquariums and, more particularly, to a self cleaning aquarium for automatically removing undesirable debris and bacteria from water housed within the aquarium while aquatic animals remain within the aquarium.
2. Prior Art
The maintenance of high water quality in aquariums is essential for successfully keeping many breeds of fish and other aquatic organisms. For example, it is the dream of every discus fish hobbyist to decorate their living space with plant-containing aquariums in which large discus fish live comfortably. However, it is not only labor-intensive, but also impractical for amateur hobbyists, or even professional breeders, to keep discus fish in tanks with plants due to the fact that discus require ultra clean water. The major source of contamination in an aquarium tank is debris from left-over food, plant and animal waste accumulated under the gravel, with the resulting release of excessive amounts of toxic metabolites and substances such as ammonium and organic acids from decaying substances. In addition, the presence of such debris promotes the growth of infectious bacteria and fungi. It is therefore strongly recommended that aquariums with discus fish do not contain any kind of bottom substrate in order to avoid the accumulation of debris. The only way to make a more attractive discus tank is to decorate the tank with individually potted plants, thereby lowering the aesthetic quality of the aquarium. It would therefore be advantageous to provide a means for assisting a user to remove debris and bacteria from a tank without having to remove all the water from the aquarium.
This prior art example shows a filter system for use with an aquarium that includes a housing for a pre-filter chamber, a biological chamber, and a sump. A protein skimmer receives water flowing from the pre-filter chamber and returns the water to the pre-filter chamber, such that a portion of the water flows through the protein skimmer several times before being returned to the aquarium. The biological chamber has a drip drawer holder having drip drawers for holding filter media pads and dispersing water evenly over biological media in the biological chamber. Unfortunately, this prior art example requires manual operation which is both difficult and time consuming.
Another prior art example shows an apparatus and method for removing foreign matter from water at selected levels in an aquarium that utilizes a valving mechanism placed between a skimmer adjacent the upper surface of the water and a lower inlet adjacent the lower bottom of the aquarium. The valving mechanism is operated selectively to control the relative volume of the flow of water through the skimmer and through the lower inlet, and a corresponding continuous withdrawal of water, together with entrained foreign matter, passes through either one or both the skimmer or the lower inlet so as to remove foreign matter from selected levels in the aquarium. Unfortunately, this prior art example utilizes a valving mechanism that must be manually adjusted in order to function properly.
Accordingly, a need remains for a self-cleaning aquarium in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an apparatus that is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, which automatically removes undesirable debris and bacteria from water housed within the aquarium while aquatic animals remain within the aquarium. Such an apparatus assists a user to maintain balanced PH and chlorine levels within an aquarium while saving time, water and electricity.
The present invention is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.